


Hummingbird Heartbeat

by chararii



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hospital, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Drinking, F/F, Fluff, Gen, Haruno Sakura-centric, Humor, Mild Language, Minor Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto, Multi, POV Haruno Sakura
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-09
Updated: 2020-08-09
Packaged: 2021-03-06 00:06:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,980
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25804093
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chararii/pseuds/chararii
Summary: Sakura was late to her first day of residency at Konoha Central, the nation's finest hospital. As if that wasn't already bad enough, her new boss hated her before they even got formally introduced and the surgeon responsible for her... well.Kato Shizune wascute.All in all, the first day of her illustrious career as surgeon truly could've gone better.
Relationships: Haruno Sakura/Shizune, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 14
Kudos: 35





	Hummingbird Heartbeat

**Author's Note:**

> The Prompt: Hospital AU with pretty much the same dynamic. Tsunade as director, Shizune as head surgeon or something and Sakura as intern. ShizuSaku.
> 
> Or: That hospital AU that takes place on the streets, in a bar, and the changing rooms.

_Ooooooh no, nononononono-_

Sakura sped across the walkway, throwing her hands up and yelling excuses at the taxi driver who jammed his feet on the brake to stop his wheels before they could run her over.

“Sorry! I'M SORRY!” People stopped and stared left and right at the blur of pink and white that sprinted down the boardwalk, weaving through the busy crowd of businessmen and women. Years of being friends with Lee and Tenten – and the ungodly morning runs at nope o'clock – had supplied her with just enough agility to avoid crashing into anyone on her mad dash towards her destination.

It was her first day. And she was _late_. Pure horror had woken Sakura early, a sense of doom and foreboding turning into terror upon realising that she had slept in. Never before had she gotten dressed so quickly only to immediately undress because she'd forgotten to shower. Her racket had woken Ino who had _not been happy_. The results of Ino being unhappy roused Naruto from sleep who then shuffled into the kitchen with bleary eyes and quiet whimpers.

At some point Sakura had clearly given up on her hair which stuck out at odd angles and refused to be put down. The cup of coffee she'd made had been left behind on the kitchen counter along with her keys. Having to rely on Ino's mercy after Sakura had interrupted her beauty sleep at 5 am in the morning was not dissimilar to attempting to pet a rabid dog. Privately, she had already given up on the entire day. What was supposed to be her first real foot in the field she studied so hard for, turned into a nightmare in less than two hours.

Sakura hoped Lee's uncle's offer to work as instructor in his dojo was still open because so far she saw no way she'd survive the infamous director of the prestige hospital she was supposed to intern at. Senju Tsunade _hated_ tardiness. And allegedly made the doctors working under her cry at least twice a week. Ino's older half-brother swore he knew a guy who knew an intern who'd been punted through a window by the legendary medical prodigy. While Sakura was reasonably certain that Deidara was full of shit, she didn't exactly want to test the limits of Tsunade-sama's patience. Which she was currently doing. Because she was _late_.

One block before her goal, Sakura's luck ran out. One moment she'd been running past a coffee shop, the next she found herself with an armful of chest. With all her momentum suddenly coming to a stop, Sakura felt dizzy and disoriented.

“WHAT THE HELL, BRAT!” Sakura jumped with a squeak at the sudden assault on her eardrums. The shout woke her from her haze and spurred her back in action. As if she'd been stung, Sakura jumped backwards and came face to face with a somewhat mortified woman in her thirties. A faint blush grazed her cheeks and for a second, Sakura was caught by how cute she was. Large doe-like eyes, a small nose and pouty lips were framed by short glossy strands of hair.

“Can't you look where you're going?! My damn clothes!” Blinking twice in rapid succession, Sakura turned her gaze to the right. And immediately wished she hadn't. A fuming blonde with her hands on her hips glowered at Sakura in a way that made her feel much smaller than she truly was. A large brown coffee stain covered the front of the woman's blouse while the empty cup listlessly rolled down the road.

“You're going to replace that and because you're making me run late, also whatever pa-” Late. _Shit_. Sakura stopped listening to the female and hastily pulled a small piece of paper from the depths of her bag. Ten seconds later, she had scribbled her mobile number onto the scrap and practically threw it at the blonde.

“I'm so sorry I'm super late and it's my first day please call me and send me the bill or something Ireallygottadashtalktoyoulaterbye-” Sakura flailed her arm in what only barely resembled a wave before she whirled around on the spot and bolted.

“GET BACK HERE!” Ignoring the enraged bellows, Sakura quietly prayed to whatever deity was listening that the woman would be happy enough with a replacement blouse and wouldn't insist on actually calling her. Sakura wasn't easily cowed but mercy, that blonde had been terrifying. Although she wouldn't mind running into her dark-haired friend again... No. Bad thoughts. Not the time _or_ place.

Taking a sharp left and pausing for a second, Sakura breathed heavily and wiped a few messy strands of hair out of her face. There it was. Konoha Central Hospital. Exhausted and harried as she was, she allowed herself a moment to savour the view. The building was massive yet tasteful, held in polished whites and blues with large glass fronts instead of walls and lush green shrubbery surrounding the entrance.

Sakura had worked herself to the bone for years in order to graduate with highest honours and a list of extra-curricular activities as long as her arm. Only one med school graduate in the entire nation was accepted as intern by the country's leading medical facility. And it had been Sakura. With one last satisfied grin, she righted herself and fell into a light jog. A few quick movements of her hands smoothed her hair as much as possible and a brief look at her reflection in the glass panes later she had fixed her blouse to the best of her ability.

She still looked like she'd been dragged through a hedge and then got caught in a hurricane but at this point her appearance was Sakura's last problem. Stepping inside the lobby, she hurried towards the reception and put on her best, if slightly tired, smile.

“Oh dear! Are you alright, miss?” the concerned receptionist asked after taking in Sakura's state of... well, everything. She tried not to cringe as she self-consciously pat down her rumpled blouse and made sure to smile just a little wider. If she looked like a clown, at least the kind woman was nice enough not to point it out.

“Yes, thank you. Um, I'm Haruno Sakura, I have the registration papers-” She interrupted herself and rifled through the contents of her bag.

“I'm the new intern and I'm late I know, but I've just been so excited and-” Ah. She found them. As Sakura grabbed the documents and pulled them from her bag, she grimaced. They looked just as bad as the rest of her. With a nervous chuckle, she placed the bundle on the desk and attempted to remove the crinkles when the receptionist took pity on her and accepted them without further ado.

“Take a seat and calm down while I work you into the system. Tsunade-sama is always late,” the woman said with a twinkle in her eyes as Sakura visibly deflated. All this stress... for nothing?

“...thank you,” she murmured weakly as she dragged her feet to the nearby seating area. Falling into a bright red cushioned seat, she closed her eyes and let her head fall back. Late. Latelatelate. That damn word kept popping up today. Sakura let her bag drop from her arm and concentrated on her breathing just like Tenten had taught her, ages ago. In. Out. In. Out. In-

“-damn kid! I'll call that number later and if it's fake I will track down that brat and shove the dry cleaning bill in her face!” Oh no. No. No way. Sakura's eyes popped open with a loud smack just in time to spot the two women walk around the corner, blonde and black, and one with a ruined blouse. With lightning quick reflexes, Sakura snatched her bag off the ground and shot out of her seat. Frantically looking for a place to hide but coming up empty, Sakura made the brilliant decision to cower behind the back of the chair.

What were the odds, what were the actual odds that the one woman she'd run into and spilled coffee all over also worked at Konoha Central? Maybe... maybe it was a mistake. She'd suffered some minor burns and simply came in to get them looked at? Now Sakura would never wish harm on anybody but right now that seemed like the better alternative. God save her if she ended up working in the same department as the blonde.

“What's this then? Where's the runt?” Sakura flinched as the blonde's voice disrupted the calm atmosphere of the lobby.

“She's- huh. She was just over there a second ago. Here's her file. Haruno Sakura.” A faint whimper escaped her as she curled into a ball, _this_ close to tears. In front of her eyes, her entire glorious career crumbled into pieces. If they threw her out on the spot she wouldn't find a different internship in time and even if she did, who would accept someone who'd been blacklisted by Konoha's best hospital?

“Wha- THIS IS THE BRAT!” This was it. Goodbye, Dr. Haruno. She'd have to move back to her parents' home and contact Gai-sensei as soon as possible. Who cared about all the years she'd wasted just to get to this point. Who cared about the tuition money and her student loans, oh and her childhood dreams-

“Ah, don't be so hasty. She seemed rather distraught and she did offer to cover the bill.” Quietly thanking whoever had taken her side, Sakura slung her arms around her knees and resolved to just quietly sneak out and perhaps come back later (or never).

“Oh, the kid's gonna wish it'd never been born,” the blonde growled and Sakura was not terrified. At least she tried to tell herself this as she searched for her phone. If she texted Ino now she could pick her up before her boss would undoubtedly pull her back into the hell that was fashion magazine editing. She'd visited Ino's work place once. Never again.

“Look at her grades, Tsunade-sama. She's clearly qualified.” Right when Sakura thought the day couldn't possibly any worse, it did. Lord, did it get worse. Her own mind betrayed her by vividly recalling every single horror story she'd heard about Senju Tsunade during her med school days. Beautiful, brilliant, violent and absolutely no impulse control-

“Whatever. I'll call the runt and if she doesn't show up in five minutes I'm kicking her ass to the curb.” The woman had her number. Senju Tsunade had Sakura's _number_! After gaping for a second, she scrambled to find her phone and mute it before the entire lobby bore witness to the moment that Haruno Sakura had dived behind a seat to hide from her new boss-

' _I got a pocket, got a pocket full of sunshine~_ '. Sakura froze like a deer caught in headlights. She'd forgotten all about that damn ringtone. The song blared through the sudden stillness of the lobby and Sakura didn't dare move or disable it. A few seconds later, it stopped. Sakura held her breath and waited.

“Hold on a moment. Is she _hiding_ behind that chair? That's her bag! BRAT I CAN SEE YOU!” Game over. Swallowing audibly, Sakura shifted on her knees, placed her hands on the back of her hiding place and then, slowly, raised her head. Right there, in front of the desk, stood the blonde woman. She wore a lab coat now that didn't completely hide the brown stain on her blouse. Her arms were crossed underneath her sizeable chest and she looked ready to commit murder. The receptionist on the other hand, looked at her as if she was a crazy person.

“I... I can explain,” she began weakly only to shriek and duck when one of the tiny porcelain animals decorating the desk came sailing towards her head.

“WHO DECIDED TO PICK THIS IDIOT AS OUR INTERN?” Tsunade-sama roared and got ready to launch another bauble when the pretty dark-haired woman swiftly moved all available objects out of the blonde's range.

“I did, Tsunade-sama. She wishes to become a surgeon and this year it was my department's turn,” she explained with the patience of someone who had years of dealing with this explosive force of nature. Sakura felt a faint blush rising on her cheeks and immediately chastised herself. Crushing on one's superior was a surefire way to awkwardness hell.

“Couldn't you have chosen someone with a _spine_?” The blush returned though this time it was one of shame rather than embarrassment. Sakura didn't dare think about what her first impression must have been like. She certainly hadn't endeared herself the woman who had inspired her to go into medicine to begin with.

“I can't see her survive for more than a week,” the Senju added dismissively before dropping Sakura's file on the desk and turning around without sparing her another glance.

“Not worth my time. If she's still with you after two weeks, let me know and I might change my opinion.” The words cut right into Sakura's heart. She wilted and listlessly pulled at the strap of her bag as the clicking of the Senju's heels disappeared around a corner. All of the excitement that had built over the weeks following her acceptance letter went down the drain. The blonde doctor had been right. Sakura had acted like an absolute moron. If she were in the older woman's place she wouldn't think much of herself either. Perhaps she should just go home...

“Everyone has a bad day sometimes.” Sakura dragged herself off the floor and shuffled closer to the desk. She appreciated the dark-haired female's efforts but it kind of seemed too late for that.

“My name is Kato Shizune. I'm the head surgeon and will be responsible for you,” the woman continued while signing off on some forms. She was just about to hand Sakura her temporary ID when she paused. Sakura dared to look into her face through her bangs and felt some of the weight on her shoulders disappear. Shizune-san's expression was warm and inviting. She positively radiated compassion and despite her low spirits, Sakura felt the budding crush resurface to the forefront of her mind. Despite knowing she'd already lost, she attempted to push it away nevertheless.

“I will show you the showers and changing rooms first. There's still some time before I'm busy with my rounds so you have a few minutes to freshen up.” Sakura wanted to hug her. The desire must have shown on her face for Shizune-san's smile widened.

“Follow me,” she said and with a sigh, Sakura complied.

“Do not take Tsunade-sama's words to heart. Her day hasn't exactly started off well and... the coffee incident didn't make it better.” Sakura's head hung even lower and she desperately wished she could just rewind time and start over. If she hadn't overslept none of this would have happened. She'd been so excited...

“I'm sorry,” she mumbled halfheartedly. It wasn't that she didn't mean it. Sakura simply felt drained of all energy and desperately wished for the energy of her early childhood. She'd been a terror then, fighting and biting without ever giving up. Growing up had mellowed her and not necessarily in all the good ways.

“Don't worry. She'll have forgotten about it tomorrow.” Sakura's eyes went wide and hopeful as she stared at the surgeon.

“Really?” she asked only to droop once more when Shizune-san chuckled nervously and rubbed the back of her head with her left hand.

“Just don't let it drag you down. I personally selected you from over three hundred candidates. I wouldn't have picked you if I thought you couldn't handle it.” Warmth bloomed in Sakura's chest as she bit her lip and studied the older woman through her bangs. She couldn't help but preen under the praise. Ino always liked to say that Sakura would follow anyone home like a dog for little more than a few kind words and pretty eyes. To this day she insisted that was not true.

“Thank you,” Sakura murmured softly and smiled shyly. The dark-haired woman returned the gesture and Sakura tried hard not to focus too much on the way the corners of her eyes crinkled and turned upwards as she squinted ever so slightly...

Oh _no_.

“So. How was your first day?” Sakura kicked her shoes in a corner and dropped her bag in the floor. Ignoring Ino who leaned against a counter while sipping on what smelled an awful lot like strawberry vodka, she shuffled through the kitchen and reached for one of the cupboards.

“That well huh.” Sakura shrugged listlessly and poured some leftover tea into her favourite mug. Ugh. That had to be at least a few hours old. Emptying her mug in the sink, she sighed and slid down the counter top until she sat on the floor.

“My boss hates me and my other boss is too cute.” After the disastrous start of their working relationship, Sakura hadn't seen Tsunade-sama again. As director she probably spent most of her time in her office yet wherever she went, Sakura felt oddly watched. And judged. Shizune-san on the other hand... Sakura groaned and buried her face in her hands, cheeks now a flaming red.

“Damn you got it bad.” She _did_. But it wasn't even her fault. If anything, Sakura blamed the dark-haired surgeon for being so damn kind and sweet and _smart_ and pretty and-

“Waaah,” she moaned pathetically as she flopped over on her side. What a Naruto move yet she couldn't even bring herself to make fun of it. She was so tired. And entire day on her feet while having all kinds of information thrown at her during a tour around the massive hospital? At the time Sakura had dealt with it remarkably well and only missed a small handful of sentences because she was too busy staring at her beautiful superior. Now, she crashed. And burned. God, her eyes hurt.

“It's not the Senju, is it? That's just asking for trouble. I swear the shit Dei told me about that woman...” Honestly, how did Ino always get it both right and wrong in one go.

“The Senju is the one that hates me,” Sakura supplied, voice muffle due to the way her cheek was smushed against the kitchen tiles. At least the floor was warm. And comfortable. Beds were overrated.

“If you fall asleep now, Nard's going to trip over you and then you have to listen to Sasuke bitch about why his boyfriend is too injured to go hiking.” Sometimes Sakura hated Ino's flawless insight into the inner workings of their surly childhood crush. How glad she was to have dodged that particular bullet. Naruto was the only one who could deal with the youngest Uchiha without getting dangerously close to committing homicide.

“So what's she like then?” Sakura made a valiant effort to get up. Three clumsy attempts later she succeeded and sunk into a chair instead. If she didn't have to show up for an early morning shift the following day she'd ask Ino to be less stingy with her drink.

“It could be a guy,” she pointed out and knew Ino raised her brows in a clear show of scepticism.

“I bet she's older than you.”

“Oh my _God_ , get out of my head!”

She was being ridiculous. Absolutely, unbelievably ridiculous. Critically analysing her reflection in the mirror, Sakura tucked a single strand of hair behind her ear. Too infantile. She pulled at it and arranged it to frame her face. Too boring. Pulling at her hair band, Sakura shook her head once and let her pink locks fall down until they touched her shoulders. Plain awful. Growling at herself, she resolutely wrangled her hair into a spiky ponytail. She was too old for this shit. Fretting over one's appearance because of a crush was cute when you were a teenager. For a grown woman, such behaviour was downright embarrassing.

Her second day didn't start much better than the first. Exhaustion and a long late night talk with Ino that somehow ended with them watching a stupid rom-com and falling asleep in front of the TV had resulted in Sakura waking up late. Again. At least this time she hadn't run into anyone on her way to the hospital. Ino, bless her, had thrown a set of nice clothes at her earlier and insisted Sakura put on some makeup. Except now that she stood in the changing rooms, she couldn't help focus on everything that was wrong with her appearance.

Or worse, the fact that she was worrying over her looks when she was supposed to get her head in the game. This stupid crush was a nuisance and Sakura fervently hoped she'd outgrow it as soon as possible. It had to be the novelty of the situation. It would fade. And then she could concentrate on her career. Yes.

“Ah. Good morning, Sakura-san.” Sakura jumped and dropped her pocket mirror only to scramble to catch it before it could fall and shatter on the floor.

“H-hi! Shizune-san. Good morning.” _Idiot_.

“It's fortunate you arrived a little early today. I was planning on going through a few files with you before the rounds.” Sakura refused to stare as the dark-haired surgeon changed, biting her lip and praying for mercy.

“I assume you already read your schedule but in case you didn't, you will spend four hours in surgery today. Since I am responsible for you we will work on my patients and there's a few things you should know beforehand. I will brief you during rounds,” Shizune-san continued before stepping back into Sakura's line of sight as she put on her white coat.

“One patient especially is a fascinating case-” Sakura gulped as she took in the way the woman's eyes sparkled in excitement as she filled her in on the specifics of one Mori-san's severe coronary heart disease. They left the changing room with Sakura trailing after the woman like a puppy, eagerly listening to every word she said and definitely not staring.

Thankfully once the actual rounds began, Sakura's professionalism took over. She had little time to fawn over Shizune-san as the older woman introduced her to a variety of patients, discussed their various medical issues and every now and then quizzed Sakura on their specifics. That part at least, was familiar. She had always aced tests.

Only once did she cross paths with Tsunade-sama and while she didn't hide or run, well. If she took one step to the left to be partially obscured by a pillar, then that was nobody's business but hers.

An hour later, Sakura was once again reduced to a nervous mess. Her hands didn't shake as she pulled latex gloves over her fingers. Years of gruelling medical school had completely rid her of unsteady hands. What didn't faze her body, still got to her head.

“I still remember my first real surgery. It feels like so long ago... you'll be fine, Sakura-san.” She looked at Shizune-san and some of her internal panic must have shown on her face since the woman smiled and put her hand on Sakura's shoulder before giving it a gentle squeeze. She swallowed audibly and averted her gaze, biting her lip.

“In a few days you won't even worry about it anymore.” Her eyes shone and sparkled and Sakura really wished surgery was the only problem she had to deal with.

“I operated on someone's heart today.” Sakura sipped on her drink as she lounged in her seat, barely able to suppress a yawn. She shouldn't have let Ino drag her to a bar this late at night. To be fair, Sakura had tomorrow off for scheduling reasons she wasn't privy to. Either way, her best friend had taken the opportunity to call their mutual friends and organise a spontaneous meet-up at their favourite bar. Ino, who used to have much more free time during her uni days was still on first name basis with the barman while Sakura's face had been long forgotten.

“I'm trying to eat here,” Tenten grumbled jokingly and pulled a ball of dango off a stick. Next to her, Lee precariously balanced an empty shot glass on his nose while Neji did his best to look like he was friends with neither.

“W-was it hard?” Sakura shifted to the left and shrugged.

“I was only assisting so it wasn't too bad. Scary though,” she answered honestly and leaned a little closer to Hinata. Sakura had genuinely doubted the wisdom of Ino's decision to invite her ex but so far there were no awkward incidents or lingering looks. They'd all gone to high school together and the drama surrounding Naruto's declaration that he was gay and in love with Sasuke had nearly ruined the girl. Sakura hadn't seen much of her after that until Ino one day brought her along and announced they were dating. Their relationship lasted a year until Ino met Sai and Hinata... actually, Sakura had no idea what Hinata had been up to since then.

“I can imagine,” the heiress replied before moving a glass out of the way of Kiba's drunken antics. The veterinarian had been knocking back shots ever since they arrived and taking care of him had fallen to Hinata. Actually, now that Sakura thought about it, they were sitting pretty close to each other. Huh. Good for her.

“Hey, Nard! Keep em coming,” Ino hollered at the blonde whose arms were already full with various drinks. He staggered towards their table and Sakura wondered how long it would take Sasuke to lose his patience and interfere.

“Idiot! You're going to drop them. Can't you walk twice?” Bingo. Sakura sniffed and emptied her glass just in time for Ino to slide a mojito across the table and in front of her. She frowned at the drink, then cocked her eyebrow at Ino.

“That's yours,” she pointed out and watched the blonde closer her fingers around a strawberry daiquiri that was clearly Sakura's.

“You're trying something new tonight since you're too much of a pussy to flirt with that cute boss of yours.” Suddenly, all eyes were on her. Sakura ground her teeth and glowered at her traitorous best friend.

“Thanks, Ino. Really,” she bit out, sniffed once and got busy with Ino's mojito. In all fairness it wasn't even bad. She'd still prefer her own order.

“Eeeh, Saku-chan has a crush? What's she like?” Oh for fuck's sake.

“Seriously? Does everyone think I'm gay? I've been with guys before!” Sakura insisted loudly. Her entire body was warm and the alcohol was slowly getting to her. Thankfully the bar wasn't as busy as she remembered it to be. Semester breaks and a lot of students visiting their families made for a much quieter nightlife.

“And what sad affairs those have been,” Sasuke snarked from where he sat while doing his best to keep Naruto from climbing into his lap. A drunk Naruto was a handsy Naruto and Sakura viciously thought that Sasuke fully deserved having to put up with that.

“Excuse me. _All_ my relationships have been train wrecks, not just the heterosexual ones,” she pointed out with a scowl on her lips. She needed more alcohol to deal with this. Neji didn't even protest when she stole the untouched shot in front of him and knocked it back in one clean go.

“Because you keep going for losers,” Tenten threw in from her corner seat. Sakura was surprised the woman even had time to follow the conversation since she had now joined Lee in his attempts to stack even more objects on top of the glass. Smashed Lee was an accident waiting to happen and she wouldn't stick around to pay for the resulting property damage.

“I did some research y'know.” Oh no. Ino and research together in the same sentence spelled doom for Sakura's continued mental well-being.

“So Saku's boss is the head surgeon of Konoha Central. Kato Shizune. Super intelligent, still holds the record for the highest graduation marks even though it's been like fifteen years. And she's pretty too. Also, single. Seems a bit boring but she and Saku have that in common.” Sakura threw a stack of paper towels at Ino, not that it helped much.

“Wait... fifteen and... but Saku-chan, she's _old_!” Sakura's fondness for her oldest friend didn't extend to Naruto. She lunged and tackled him, knocking over Sasuke in the process.

“OI! NO BRAWLS IN MY BAR!” Sakura growled but before she could give Naruto the tickling of his lifetime, Neji grabbed the collar of her jacket and pulled her backwards like an unruly kitten.

“Saku-chan, why are you so meeaaan,” the blonde whined pitifully. She growled and shook her fist at him.

“I'll get you in your sleep Uzumaki and don't you think I won't.” He paled and hid behind a surly, rumpled Sasuke. Good. He still remembered what she'd done to his beloved ramen stash after Naruto publicly mocked Sakura's makeup accident in their freshman year. Ino, completely unbothered by the brief show of physical violence clucked her tongue and spoke up.

“Saku has _always_ crushed on older women. She spent our entire senior year pining for Hina's homeroom teacher.”

“That was a _secret_!” Sakura hissed at Ino who opened her mouth in mock surprise and went 'Oops'. God, she hated her friends.

“I c-can call Kurenai-sensei if you like... s-she recently got divorced, so...” Ino cackled wildly at Hinata's words and Sakura smashed her forehead against the desk with a loud groan. She really needed better friends.

“Jokes aside, it's a miracle a woman like that is still single. Probably works too much. You should snatch her before someone else does,” the blonde insisted and Sakura knew it was pointless to try and argue with Ino. Back when they'd been younger and she still tried... A shudder raced down her spine as Sakura remembered the pure horror that the early days of their rivalry/friendship had been.

“If you don't find a partner soon you will die sad and alone, Ugly. Is that what you want?” Queue the peanut gallery.

“Fuck off, Sai.”

“He has a point though. You're getting older too, yeah?” Sakura growled and forced her elbow into Kiba's side. Enough was enough.

“I'm not going to creep on my boss just because all of you think I'm going to end up a spinster!” In hindsight, perhaps she shouldn't have stood up and yelled. As Sakura rolled her eyes, her gaze passed over the doorway of the establishment. And she froze.

“Wow, Saku. Way to go,” Ino quipped as their entire table turned around to stare at the two women that had just entered the bar. One busty and blonde, the other tall and brunette. Tsunade-sama and Shizune-san.

“Holy shit, that kid's the biggest idiot I've ever seen,” the former snorted before stalking over to the counter and ordering three bottles of sake. Sakura stared at Shizune. Shizune stared back. A sudden crash disrupted the silence and Sakura jumped before whirling around only to be met by chaos. Lee and Tenten were both surrounded by an army of broken glass, tissues, the remains of one salt shaker, and various coasters.

“N- Neji... 's time...,” Tenten moaned sickly at their designated driver before passing out just in time to avoid the fury of the owner. They got kicked out soon afterwards. Sakura left first, face bright red in shame and embarrassment and just in case, already searched for Gai-sensei's number in her phone book.

Sakura spent her two off days feeling sorry for herself and eating all of Naruto's ice cream. He tried to complain once but she kicked him in the shins. He didn't try again after that. There were no emails or calls from the hospital so at least they hadn't fired her. Sakura still wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. Having to face Shizune-san after her public outburst in that bar was a situation Sakura would really rather avoid. Did the woman hate her? Was she disgusted? God, would she drop Sakura and pick someone else as her supervisor?

Needless to say, she took her sweet time walking to Konoha Central the following day. There was no danger of running late since sleep had eluded her. After trying and failing to get some rest, Sakura had eventually given up and gone on a 4am run instead. The exercise helped relieve some of the tension in her body and at least she didn't have to think about the impending confrontation for a while.

Yet much sooner than she would've liked, Sakura found herself standing in front of the hospital. With a weary sigh, she moved a few strands of hair out of her face and went inside. Halfheartedly smiling at the receptionist, Sakura flashed her ID and dragged her steps to the changing room. As she changed, Sakura religiously avoided the mirror for fear of being shocked at her own ragged appearance. After getting little to no sleep for two nights, the circles beneath her eyes had to have reached unmentionable proportions.

Just as she pulled the teal shirt over her head, the doorknob rattled and turned. Sakura froze for a second, then hastily pulled down the shirt, moved her fingers through her hair and whirled around to face away from the doorway.

“A-Ah. Good morning, Sakura-san.” Curses. A heavy blanket of awkwardness filled the room. The note of unease in the woman's voice told Sakura all she needed to know. Biting her lip, she quickly gathered her things and stuffed them in her locker. They didn't need to talk about it. Probably better they didn't. Sakura was happy not to bring it up if the other woman didn't-

“I... I'm sorry, Sakura-san. But I'm not-” Oh shit. Moisture gathered in her burning eyes and Sakura bit the inside of her cheek so hard it bled. Abort. Immediately.

“No. It's fine. I get it. It's nothing serious anyway and it won't be a problem and I'll never bring it up and we can just forget about it,” she rambled while her movements grew more frantic. She had to get out. Now.

“Ah, that's not what I-”

“Seriously it's not a big deal, I can be mature about it and I swear it won't influence my work.” Once Sakura practically threw her bag inside her locker, she slammed it shut and turned around. Being turned down was fine, she could deal with that and get over it eventually. But she didn't need to hear the older woman say it. That, she couldn't bear.

“Sakura-san!” A hand closed itself around her wrist, and Sakura stilled. Her heart beat so loudly in her chest she worried it might burst. Not daring to make a sound, she took shallow breaths as she braced herself for the inevitable rejection.

“I just went through an ugly break-up. I need... time.” Wait. What? Sakura desperately wanted to turn around but was too much of a coward to do so. The fingers gently released her wrist. Sakura didn't bolt.

“You seem kind and intelligent. Perhaps once I recovered and we got to know each other a little better...” Painfully slowly, she turned to face the older woman. A faint blush rested on her cheeks, and her lips quirked upwards ever so slightly. Warmth burned in her chest and spread to every cell of Sakura's body as she allowed herself to return the hint of a smile, shy and above all, hopeful.

“I am scheduled for three surgeries today. Do you feel up to assisting me?” Sakura's mouth quivered before she beamed at the older woman, light returning to her eyes.

“Hai!”

Two months later, Sakura asked Shizune on a date.

She said yes.

**Author's Note:**

> I had a lot of fun with that one and I think it shows. After my TsunaSaku oneshot I really wanted to write something for Shizune and Sakura. It's my first attempt at modern AU and while I still prefer the ninjaverse, I really enjoyed this one. Let me know what you think. :)


End file.
